Washington DC Medical Marijuana Laws

Amendment Act B18-622 (80KB) “Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Amendment Act of 2010” — Approved 13-0 by the Council of the District of Columbia on May 4, 2010; signed by the Mayor on May 21, 2010|

Effective: July 27, 2010 [After being signed by the Mayor, the law underwent a 30-day Congessional review period. Neither the Senate nor the House acted to stop the law, so it became effective when the review period ended.]

Approved Conditions: HIV, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cancer, other conditions that are chronic, long-lasting, debilitating, or that interfere with the basic functions of life, serious medical conditions for which the use of medical marijuana is beneficial, patients undergoing treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Possession/Cultivation: The maximum amount of medical marijuana that any qualifying patient or caregiver may possess at any moment is two ounces of dried medical marijuana. The Mayor may increase the quantity of dried medical marijuana that may be possessed up to four ounces; and shall decide limits on medical marijuana of a form other than dried.

On Apr. 14, 2011, Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced the adoption of an emergency amendment (450 KB) to title 22 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), which added a new subtitle C entitled “Medical Marijuana.” The emergency amendment “will set forth the process and procedure” for patients, caregivers, physicians, and dispensaries, and “implement the provisions of the Act that must be addressed at the onset to enable the Department to administer the program.”

On Feb. 14, 2012, the DC Department of Health’s Health Regulation and Licensing Administration posted a revised timeline for the dispensary application process (180 KB), which listed June 8, 2012 as the date by which the Department intends to announce dispensary applicants available for registration.